Community safety top priority for local board

Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board is reassuring Māngere Bridge residents it is committed to work with the community to come up with a long-term solution to the ongoing community safety concerns in the area.

At a meeting of the Māngere Bridge Residents and Ratepayers Association this week, local board chair Lemauga Lydia Sosene told residents that community safety is a top priority for the board and the work was already underway to devise long-term and sustainable solutions.

“We are hosting a closed workshop later this month, to which we have invited representatives of the community from Māngere Bridge Residents and Ratepayers Association (MBRRA) with an aim to develop a Community Action Group involving the local community, key stakeholders and agencies involved.

“We will also discuss what a long-term solution looks like from the community perspective and understand the challenges the agencies involved, such as Auckland Council, Auckland Transport, Police and NZTA face when trying to come up with a solution.

“Out of that we hope to find a common solution that addresses the problem while keeping the wider community in mind,” she says.

Also at this week’s meeting, police outlined their actions in response to concerns raised at the public meeting in February. This includes three-weeks of heavy enforcement in Māngere Bridge that saw several hundred vehicles stopped, drivers tested for driving under influence and infringement offence notices issued when appropriate.

Police said the long-term plan is to alter the roster so that patrol officers could now work night shifts and continue heavy patrolling during 3am to 7am. Police also acknowledged that the area was now a priority and they were considering this issue more serious and urgent.

Mrs Sosene acknowledged residents’ frustration.

“I acknowledge that for them this is a long-standing issue and we hear them, but we are dealing with a lot of different agencies with various procedures which means this is something that cannot be rushed.”

Meanwhile, she says all the ideas put forward by residents have and will continue to be part of the discussion and encourages them to bring any other related concerns to the representatives of MBRRA, who can lead on their behalf.